Rugby: Chiefs overpower stuttering Blues

The Chiefs celebrate their win over the Blues. Photo / Getty Images

Chiefs 16
Blues 11

The Chiefs have beaten the Blues 16-11 in a tightly-contested match at Eden Park in Auckland.

The first half performance belied the respective standings of each side on the table, with the Blues forced to defend against constant Chiefs onslaughts.

Luke McAlister sent the Blues into an early 6-0 lead with a pair of penalties, including a spectacular 55m effort. His opposite number Stephen Donald suffered from contrasting fortunes, firstly missing a routine chance at goal, and then fluffing his lines again in front of the posts.

Super 15 standings

But the Chiefs chose to attack at every opportunity, running the ball out wherever possible.

That offensive attitude paid off after 25 minutes when Tana Umaga broke through the Blues defence. The Chiefs moved the ball to the right, and then across to the left hand side for Umaga to score his 48th Super Rugby try. Donald converted from the touchline, sending the visitors into a 7-6 lead.

The Chiefs continued to pile on the pressure in the second half. Donald converted another penalty to put the Waikato side 10-7 up.

However, try-scorer Umaga left the field with an ankle injury and the Blues dragged themselves back into the match.

The Blues won a scrum on 47 minutes and sent the ball out to the backs. Rene Ranger committed the defence to release Jared Payne, who dummied and dived over the line to score his 8th Super Rugby try and 6th of 2011.

Both sides were erratic with goalkicking, but Donald improved as the game went on. His penalty on 53 minutes tipped the see-sawing score back to 13-11. With two minutes to play, he pushed another goal through the posts to give the Chiefs a five-point cushion and secure the match.

Chiefs 16 (Tana Umaga try, Stephen Donald 3 pen, con) Blues 11 (Jared Payne try, Luke McAlister 2 pen). Halftime: 7-6.

- Herald Online